Hannah’s Story

Hannah was a charming and charismatic daughter, sister and friend, whose lively cheerful personality radiated warmth wherever she went. Her love for athletics led her to train for a career in the fitness industry. When she was seventeen she was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of bone cancer in her knee. The treatment for this was intensive chemotherapy and surgery to remove the tumour and effected bone around her knee.

Throughout the treatment she remained amazingly positive and refused to let her illness compromise her life any more than it had to. Having fun and partying was a way of life for Hannah and when out clubbing post-surgery she thought nothing of checking her crutches into the cloakroom so she could dance – much to the horror of her orthopaedic consultant.

She spent 9 months in hospital only allowed home at weekends if she was lucky. Throughout this time her family and friends arranged things to entertain her and give her something to focus on. They could be anything from BBQ’s to day trips out, sleepovers to shopping trips and boy could that girl shop!

These small gestures helped her cope with the endless hours spent in bed, the medications, the blood tests and the sheer tedium of hospital life.

After an initial period of remission during which time she qualified as a fitness instructor the cancer reappeared in her lungs and she had to undergo a second round of treatment which unfortunately wasn’t successful and Hannah passed away in November 2009 at home.

During her illness Hannah made it clear that she would like to help other young people in the same position. The Hannah Chamberlain Foundation has been set up to raise funds in Hannah’s memory to help other people aged between 17 and 25 who face long periods of treatment, to have something to help them through in the way of small grants to spend as they please.